Seeing red:

Young leads Redskins past Red Riders with 3 touchdowns, 52-12

August 25, 2012

WEIRTON - Indian Creek spoiled the grand opening of the new Jimmy Carey Stadium for Weir High by scoring 40 unanswered first-half points and easing to a convincing 52-12 victory over the Red Riders Friday night.

Five players scored for the Redskins while they piled up a 442 total yards - 403 of them on the ground hitting pay dirt with runs of 76, 44, 65, 56, 8, 7 and 3 yards along with an 80-yard punt return.

"The kids were focused and we came out with a good, fast start," said victorious Indian Creek head coach Andrew Connor.

Article Photos

Mike MathisonSCORING BIG IN OPENER — Indian Creek senior quarterback Alex Young (2) and senior running back Logan Woods celebrate after Young’s second touchdown of the first quarter to give the Redskins a 21-0 lead over Weir High Friday at the new Jimmy Carey Stadiium. Young scored three times and Woods once in the 52-12 victory.

Mike MathisonSFINDING SOME ROOM — Weir High sophomore quarterback William Larch runs for a gane in the second quarter of Friday’s home opener at the new Jimmy Carey Stadium. Larch finished with 221 yards rushing and a touchdown on 12 carries. The Redskins won the season opener, 52-12.

The game was less than three minutes old when the Redskins got on the board with a 3-yard keeper around the right side by senior quarterback Alex Young. Senior Logan Woods set up the score with a 60-yard return of the opening kickoff that gave his Redskins good field position at the Red Rider 25 to start the game.

Nathan Beatty booted the extra point through the uprights.

"Alex did a great job running the offense for us tonight," said Connor. "He is a very versatile athlete and we try to get the ball in his hands as often as possible."

Two possessions later, Weir High put on a drive of its own after senior Austin Wolverton stopped Young for a 19-yard loss when the ball was snapped over Young's head in punt formation. That set up the Red Riders at the Indian Creek 28.

The Riders drove to the Redskin 11 with a first down, but on fourth down, sophomore quarterback William Larch, who had a big night rushing the football, hit Matt Barnes in the flat with a pass, but Barnes was brought down on the Indian Creek 3 a couple yards short of the first down.

"The early drive when we stalled at the 3, hurt us, and it wasn't like they pushed us all over the field, but we just totally collapsed," said Weir High's Tony Filberto, who is in the first year of his second stint at the helm of the Red Riders. "We just made so many mistakes. You know when you get into opportunities, you have to finish. They weren't finishers tonight, ever."

It didn't take long for the Redskins to get out of the hole. Woods ran for two yards and junior Blake Roar added 21 more to the Indian Creek 26. Senior Darren Gribble lost two yards on a run, but Woods took the handoff from Young at his own 24 and found daylight down the right sideline. His 76-yard scamper and Beatty's kick gave the Redskins a 14-0 advantage with 1:02 left in the opening quarter.

Larch, who because of an injury, quarterbacked the Red Riders in slightly more than two full games last year as a freshman had a pass intercepted by Frank Kamarec on Weir High's next possession. On the first play after that, Young rolled to his right looking to pass, but instead tucked the ball under his arm and raced 56 yards to the end zone as the first period clock ran out. Beatty made the score 21-0.

"A lot of things happened," said Filberto. "I wish I could pinpoint one, but I saw at least 10 major mistakes that turned into six touchdowns. At least the mistakes are correctable, we just have to decide which ones we want to work on first."

Young got back into the scoring act in the second quarter when he fielded a Larch punt at his 20, cut diagonally across the field and dashed up the right sideline to the end zone. Beatty missed, but it gave the Redskins a 27-0 lead halfway through the second quarter.

Weir High turned the ball over again on its next possession when Redskin junior Tyler Lathem pounced on a fumble deep in Red Rider territory.

Indian Creek drove 32 yards in five plays with Roar going over left tackle from 8 yards out for the score. Beatty got back on track with the kick giving the Redskins a 33-0 lead.

Larch broke loose on a 50-yard run when Weir High got the ball back putting them in a threatening position at the Indian Creek 24. However, the Red Riders lost five yards in four plays and turned the ball over on downs at the Redskin 29.

"I thought we played pretty good defense tonight," said Connor. "We had some young guys in there, some linebackers that hadn't played before, and they gave up some long runs, but overall I thought they played well."

With the aid of an unsportsmanlike penalty and a Young to Corey Goodrich pass, the Redskins were able to drive to the Red Rider seven. Then with 37 seconds left on the first half clock, Roar blasted up the middle for the touchdown that gave Indian Creek the 40-0 halftime lead.

Another Weir High fumble on the opening drive of the second half set up an Indian Creek score. On the first play, Tran Huynh ran over the right side of his offensive line and broke open on a 44-yard jaunt to give his team the commanding 46-0- lead.

Larch, who led all rushers in the game with 220 yards, got rolling in the second half. His 25-yard run set up Weir High's first touchdown. Senior running back, Eric Piatt, took a handoff from the Redskin 18-yard line and made a neat cut at the five to avoid a tackler and get into the end zone. The Riders attempted to run for the two-point conversion, but were stopped short by the Redskin defense.

It didn't take long for Indian Creek to respond, with Huynh going 65-yards on the first play of the ensuing Redskin possession.

Then the Red Riders came right back as Larch blasted through the middle of the line on a keeper and broke wide open for a 63-yard run to cap the scoring.

"Our backfield tandem, Blake (Roar) and Logan (Woods) carried the ball for us. I thought it was a great team victory and we were able to spread the ball around a lot. We had 57 kids dressed tonight and all of them got to play, so that's a good program win tonight," Connor exclaimed. "Also, I thought our offensive line grew up a lot tonight."

Nine Indian Creek players carried the ball in the game. Roar finished with 80 yards and two touchdowns while Woods gained 54 yards and Huynh, who did most of his damage in the second half, led the way with 126 yards on five carries while scoring two touchdowns.

Indian Creek will entertain East Liverpool (a 21-0 loser to Beaver Local) Friday in its home opener, while the Red Riders will host Harrison Central (a 14-7 winner over Wheeling Central).